Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union v ResMed Limited

The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) brought proceedings against ResMed Limited, challenging the company's decision regarding the representation of employees affected by a major workplace change. The matter was before the Federal Court of Australia, where the AMWU sought an interlocutory injunction to prevent ResMed from implementing its workplace change plans until the court could determine the appropriate employee representative. The core dispute centered on whether the AMWU could represent employees who were not eligible to be union members and if the AMWU had standing to claim final relief.

The court had to decide whether the AMWU had established an arguable case for relief and whether the balance of convenience favoured an interim restraint on ResMed. The AMWU argued that it could be nominated as a representative for employees affected by the major workplace change, even if those employees were not eligible to be union members. The court noted that decisions within the Fair Work Commission (FWC) had concluded that the AMWU did not have the present right to enroll certain employees as members. However, the FWC had not reached a final, binding conclusion on this issue, and the matter was still subject to ongoing proceedings. Additionally, the court considered whether the AMWU could demonstrate that any misstatements made by ResMed could have influenced employees' nominations.

In dismissing the application for interim relief, the court found that the AMWU had not established an arguable case for relief as the question of the AMWU's right to represent non-member employees remained unresolved. The court also considered the balance of convenience and concluded that, given the availability of remedies as final relief, it was not appropriate to grant the interlocutory injunction at that stage. The proceedings were subsequently listed for directions to be held on 14 August 2015.

The court's orders were to dismiss the application for interim relief and to list the proceedings for directions on the specified date. These orders reflect the court's determination that the AMWU had not met the necessary thresholds for an interlocutory injunction at that stage of the proceedings.